Nuclear or Extended Family?; Balancing Family Relationships - Maulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi

- Bibi Fāṭimatu ’z-Zahrā’ is the nucleus the Ahl-e Kisā’, the five holy figures in Islam; she is directly linked to all other members of Ahl-e Kisā’: she is daughter of the Prophet, wife of the Imam, and mother of Ḥasan and Ḥusayn. - Keeping that in mind, this lecture covers the topic of family life - In my various discussions on Family Life in Islam, we have looked at the two famous family models: Extended Family (or Joint Family System) and Nuclear Family (Separate Family System). Islam prefers a Semi-Attached Family System, i.e., a nuclear family model with emphasis on ṣilatu ’r-raḥam.  - “Ṣilatu ’r-Raḥim” is the key here. What does it mean? It means making close one’s ties of relationship, i.e., maintaining the ties of relationship with kindness. - David Brooks, a prominent American intellectual, discusses the history of family system of the modern America in a recent article: “The Nuclear Family Was A Mistake.” - Islam promotes a middle path: the nuclear family model with a strong emphasis on ṣilatu ’r-raḥim: that is the key because many times self-centeredness (or “hyper-individualism”) creeps in and that leads to the delinking of the nuclear family with those who are related to them. - “Delinking” here means qaṭu ’r-rahim, cutting off the ties of relationship. - The Sūrah an-Nūr (24:61) gives a good indication of what a nuclear family with a strong sense of ṣilatu ’r-raḥm should look like - Ḥadīth-e Kisā’ as an Example of Ṣilatu ’r-Raḥim - When we recite ḥadīth-e kisā’ in our mehfil and marriages, it is not only for thawāb, we are being constantly reminded of the ṣilatu ’r-raḥim - Their houses were separate, but their hearts were united - Before this question and answer between angels and Adam, there is a ḥadīth qudsi MP3:  https://f001.backblazeb2.com/file/Jaffari/Wiladat/WiladatBibiFatema_Rizvi_2020-02-14_21-18-55.mp3 Wiladat Bibi Fatima (a.s.) Recited By: Maulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi Date: February 14th, 2020 Youtube: https://youtube.com/islamicentre Podcasts: https://anchor.fm/islamicentre Facebook: https://facebook.com/IslamiCentre.org Website: https://islamicentre.org https://facebook.com/sayyidmrizvi https://instagram.com/sayyidmrizvi https://twitter.com/sayyidmrizvi